The full study, being released Wednesday by the resource center, is based on a comparison of union and nonunion apprenticeship programs registered with the state Division of Apprenticeship from 1997 to 2007.

"We spend over $28 million a year in recruiting and training the best qualified craftspeople in the construction industry, and the results of this study demonstrate that the investment is paying off," said Frank Callahan, president of the Massachusetts Building Trades Council, in a statement.

The U.S. Government Accounting Office has forecasted that 850,000 construction jobs will open nationally from 2002 to 2012. Massachusetts' share is expected to Some of the figures in the study show:

• Apprentices in union programs go on to journeyperson status at higher rates -- 81 percent (6,142 workers), compared to 19 percent (1,419) in nonunion programs.
• Union programs recruited racial/ethnic minorities at higher rates, and women at more than twice the rate of nonunion programs. Completion rates for women, veterans and apprentices with disabilities from union programs were double those from nonunion programs, the study shows.
• Union programs had greater sustainability, with a cancellation rate of 11 percent, compared to nonunion programs that were cancelled 59 percent during the 10-year period of the study. The average years of operation for union programs are 21 years, compared to an average six-year duration for nonunion programs.

The full study will be released by the Labor Resource Center Wednesday at a press conference at the university.